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Should newly built homes have to be accessible for frail elderly people or people with a disability?
Key points:
- State and territory housing ministers will meet Friday to consider a national accessible building standard
- Three out of four people with mobility problems can't find a suitable home
- At least three states have already opted out
Aged and disability advocates certainly think so, and they're urging a meeting of housing ministers on Friday to push for agreement on national accessible building standards.
But at least three states have already opted out.
Karen Appleby from the Council on the Ageing said three out of four people with mobility problems can't find a suitable home.
"It can range from [something] as simple as having a little bit of a wider doorway through to having some space around a kitchen bench, to having one step-free entrance into the home."
Last year changes were proposed to the National Construction Code that would make it mandatory for new homes to have minimum accessibility standards, but New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia opted out.
They argued the changes would drive up housing prices and place an unjustified burden on the construction industry.
Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison agrees that the cost of introducing national building standards would outweigh the benefit.
He said that at a time when the building industry is under pressure, it's more economical to only build certain houses to be accessible.
"The Regulatory Impact Statement, which was done in 2021 against these changes, found that the costs outweighed the benefits by at least $4 billion over 10 years."
Ken Morrison said at the very least the Property Council would like to see a delay in implementation.
Finding an accessible rental near-impossible
Jacob Darkin lives in a rental property with wheelchair access, but it's being sold.
"I'm getting a bit worried because I've just been told I have about 30 days, if this buyer does come through, to find somewhere to move into and I don't really know where to go."
He was a 21-year-old tradesman when he became disabled.
"I was at a food market in Penrith and I was with my girlfriend at the time, and I was just mucking around."
He was trying an acrobatic trick he'd been practising.
"It was in 2019 when I broke my neck. I did a front flip and I've got a spinal cord injury.
"I spent nine months in hospital and I learnt how to do everything again. I learnt how to dress myself and get back into the community."
He's looking for a new home, but each time he thinks he's found something, he is disappointed.
"Usually it says that it's accessible but then I'll find it has a walk in shower."
Karen Appleby from the Council on the Ageing said a range of people required accessible homes.
"It's not just for people who are older or with disability. It's for anyone who might have an accident during their life, might have an illness and they still need to enter their home or visit someone else.
"We've heard so many stories of families not being able to have relatives visit them, they feel that that family member is excluded."